Remember Sentinel, Karma Loves You
by CaramelDatsun
Summary: Due to karmatic events outside of his control, everyone's favorite jerk is now stuck teaching a human to be tough! All that can be said is this cannot end well.
1. Karma's Got it Out For Him

"I hate this planet…"

Sentinel Prime (AKA Glitch-head and Pompous Windbag Prime) sat in a parking lot in his alt mode, grumbling to himself. "Stupid planet, stupid Optimus, stupid alt-mode that isn't awesome…" He growled, frightening several nearby humans. "Stupid organics with their acid and foreign contaminants…" He added, scowling, although scowling in your alt mode is rather difficult for anyone to see.

Pulling out of the two and a half parking spaces he'd taken up, he drove away from what the humans called a 'grocery store', nearly running over several humans and cars.

---

As he drove through the city (on the wrong side of the street, mind you,) he could help but stop outside a large building teeming with younger looking organics. He really didn't like organics all together, but this place reminded him of his younger cycles, when he was nothing but a lowly recruit. His favorite sight was seeing two larger organics picking on a smaller one.

Ah, here was one of those now.

"Hey dweeb, gimme your lunch money!" A large, hulking male organic growled at a much smaller, weaker one who appeared to be wearing lenses, as other large humans crowded around their 'prey'.

Sentinel suppressed a chuckle as the larger organics began beating up the smaller one. "Ah, memories." He sighed.

A wail caught his attention. He caught sight of some female 'humans' pointing and laughing at another female, whose optics were leaking fluid in frustration. Sentinel vaguely remembered that Optimus called this action 'crying'. The Elite Guard mech thought back to his recruit days, and remembered that Elita-One would have been the one pointing and laughing.

The female bullies had taken the weaker female's possessions and were now throwing them while their target tried to get them back. Sentinel laughed as the poor girl in the middle tripped and fell. Unfortunately, his laugh had attracted the attention of the female bullies, who looked over at him.

"Hey, isn't that one of those car robots?" One asked.

"Yeah, it is!" Another said. Judging by her appearance, she appeared to be leader of this gang of bullies. "How dumb is he! He's a snowplow and it's April!"

"Yeah, I think he's the one with the big, dumb chin!" Another girl said, and they all broke down laughing.

That was the last straw. Sentinel respected these bullies, but NO ONE, especially not organic females, MADE FUN OF HIS CHIN.

Transforming and drawing his energy lance, he snarled, "You organics got a problem with my chin?!" The females promptly shrieked and ran off. "Yeah, that's right, you run away!" He called after them, transforming back into vehicle mode. How he hated organics…

"E-excuse me." A small voice said.

"Huh?" Sentinel noticed the smaller organic female standing beside him. Atop her head was a crop of dusty red 'hair' drawn into what the humans called a ponytail. Her eyes were a light blue, and they shimmered gratefully.

"Um, thank you for helping me out, Mister…?" She said, bowing slightly.

"The name's Sentinel Prime, and I only threatened them because they dared to make fun of my chin." He growled, getting ready to peal out of there, his engine revving in annoyance.

"W-wait!" The human said.

"What?"

"Um, listen…I was hoping…you'd be able to teach me to be tough like that." She said rapidly, as though she might lose her nerve mid-sentence.

Silence, then…

"HA!" The stuck-up bot laughed. Transforming, he looked down at her and sneered, "What makes you think I'll help someone like YOU? You're just a puny organic who couldn't even defend itself against bullies!"

"One, I'm a girl! And two, I want to stand up to them!" She squeaked, stepping back in a flustered manner. "And you're the only one who can teach me how!"

"Why aren't you bothering Optimus Prime or the rest of his crew about this, huh?" Sentinel asked snidely. "I'm sure they'd be better at dealing with your meaningless problems."

"I-I've tried…" she muttered. "But they're so popular and cool…they'd probably only laugh at me. Besides, I've always lost my nerve every time I try to go up to one of them…"

Sentinel snorted. "'Popular?' 'Cool?' Hah, you organics are so easily impressed. What's so special about them?"

"I don't know…But still, that's why I want YOU to teach me how to be tough!" She whined. "After all, you look much stronger than Optimus or Bulkhead, plus, you've got the attitude to match it! Please oh, please teach me how to be tough like you, pleasepleaseplease!"

"Ugh, alright, alright, enough with the pleading, it's embarrassing me." Sentinel growled. "But remember, I'm only helping you because you knew what you were talking about."

"YAY!" She squealed, and hugged his leg, which in any other case would have been potentially fatal.

Sentinel jumped three feet into the air, attempting to shake the organic off his leg. "GET OFF!" He yelled, as the girl fell off and landed on her backside. Taking something out of his subspace, he sprayed his leg with what appeared to be disinfectant.

"Um, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Making sure your organic germs to kill me!" He replied. "Next time, don't do that."

"O-ok…"

"Good. Now, what exactly do you go by, fleshy?"

"Um, my name's Alice…Alice Redcher."

"…Really? What a dumb name. I'll just call you Fleshy, then." Transforming, he paused as the human looked expectantly at him. "Well, what are you standing there for?" He asked.

"Can you please open the door, please? I'd get it, but I don't want to get you infected or anything." She said in a sarcastic voice.

"Sarcasm. Huh. It's a start." Sentinel sighed. There was NO WAY he was letting that disgusting little organic into his interior…even if she was a fan! Sort of…and it was an organic…A nasty, disease-carrying little organic fan, but a fan, nevertheless. His processor buzzed with though. Should he let the nasty little thing ride in him, or should he make her walk? Choices…

"Um, Mr. Sentinel Prime? Hello?" The mech had just realized he had been just sitting there without saying anything. Apparently, it had made the fleshy nervous.

"What?" He snapped. "I was thinking!"

"Oh, sorry. But aren't you going to let me in?"

"…No. You'll infect me with something. I'm sure of it."

"Wow, you're a germophobe."

"A what?"

"Someone who's afraid of germs and infection…Man, you're worse than those girls who bully me."

"Excuse me?! It sounds like you don't want my help!"

"Nonono! I need your help! But I'm trusting you to help me…Can't you at least TRY trusting me when I say I'm not carrying an infectious disease?"

The mech did not answer that, but the girl still sensed his unease. This gave her an idea. "Y'know," she continued, "I've seen your boss from afar. I may not be an alien robot, but I know that being friendly to a young creature, organic or not, scores you big points with the boss guy. Wouldn't it be great if you could look good in front of your superior?"

"Hmmm…for an organic, you're smart." Sentinel commented after a moment of thought. After those several fiascos on this planet involving the Headmaster and that Decepticon Starscream, he could stand to risk infection if it meant he could look good in front of Ultra Magnus again. There was not much left for him to lose, right? "Very well, fleshy. But you'd better not be lying when you say you're clean."

"You can trust me, don't you worry about that."

"…Why is it that when you say that that I feel more nervous?"

Natural reaction? I don't know. Now, can't you please let me in? I'm getting tired of standing out here."

Grudgingly, the mech allowed a door to open, and he winced visibly as the teen scrambled inside his cab. Patting his dashboard, she said, "See? That wasn't too bad, wasn't it? Now, what first?"

'I swear, somewhere out there, Primus is laughing at me…' The mech though as his engine roared to life and he zoomed down the street.

--

After five minutes of very dangerous driving, backseat driving advice from Alice, and having the girl scream in fear as he ran a red light, Sentinel was finally back at the ship, where he could plan his next move. Letting the girl out, he growled, "Follow me."

For her size, she kept pace with the mech fairly well, which meant he didn't need to slow down for her. As he strode down the hall, he hoped that he wouldn't meet anyone…

"Uh, Sentinel? Do you know that a human is following you?" And there was Jazz…Great. That's the last thing he needed.

"Yes…Yes, I know." The normally pompous mech replied bluntly, not looking Jazz or the now bubbly human standing behind him.

"…And why is that?" Jazz asked, a grin appearing on his face.

"Oh, Mr. Sentinel saved me from some bullies today!" Alice giggled sweetly…a little too sweetly. "He's my hero!" She pounced on his leg, smiling. Sentinel winced, but managed a quick, painful nod.

"Hmmm…is that right? Well, good for you, Sentinel. You're finally becoming more comfortable around humans." Jazz said, striding down the hall past the blue mech. As soon as Jazz was around the corner, Sentinel shook the girl off and sprayed his leg with disinfectant.

"I though I told you not to do that!" Sentinel snarled, glaring at Alice.

The girl shrugged. "Hey, it was all in the name of making you look good. Besides, you KNOW that I'm clean. What do I look like, a germbag or something?"

"You want the truth or a sugar-coated lie?" Sentinel asked coldly.

"Ugh! You're impossible!" Alice huffed.

"Hey, it's not like I'm in this to prove I'm a nice guy! That would only be a bonus. I'm only in this to look good in front of Ultra Magnus!"

"Ok, look," Alice said in an exasperated voice, "If we can stand each other until YOU make me tougher and I help you show up Optimus Prime, then after this is all over, we never have to interact EVER AGAIN. Deal?"

"Alright, fine."

"Shall we shake on it?"

"Don't push it, Fleshy."

"Alice. My name is Alice."

"Whatever." Sentinel snorted.

"So, like I asked before, what's the first thing I have to learn?"

"Well, to be honest, I learned to be the way I am through a tough training regiment that I had to make up as I went. The first thing that you need is some subordinates to crush under your heel, but you can be friendly with every time the boss comes by for inspections. Well, that, or some sort of upgrade that makes you tougher than the other ingrates. What have you got?"

"Well, I have an A in all my classes…"

"Pfffth. Smarts? Please. That's probably part of the reason WHY you're being bullied."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, you need to be smart in lots of tough situations, but it's knowing when to use them is what counts."

"O-kay…"

"Ugh, let me guess: You don't have anyone lower than you when it comes to your…'school', correct?"

"Sadly, no. Maybe a crippled kid, but I'm not that mean."

"Hmmm. You have a point," Sentinel mused. "Alright, let me get this straight: You have no upgrades, no special abilities, and no one to oppress. You are currently at the bottom of what you humans call a 'food chain', correct?"

"I guess…"

"Ugh. Then we've got a long way to go. Looks like I'll have to think of something then."

"Um, why can't we just work on me getting stronger? Y'know, like working out?"

"Brilliant idea! Glad I though of it."

"Um, but-?"

"Alright, alright, no need to praise me for that genius idea," The Elite Guard mech said in what he though was a modest voice. "Just be here bright and early tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you outside."


	2. In Which Karma Starts to Laugh

The following morning was chilly, but Sentinel Prime stood silently outside the cruiser, foot tapping impatiently. "Where in the universe is that fleshy?" He snarled. "I swear, if she doesn't show up soon…"

"Cool your jets, Sentinel, I'm here." A voice came from behind him. The mech turned to see the girl in a white hoodie and black sweatpants. "Ready to train, sir!"

"Wait, how did you get behind me?" He asked. "I've been standing here for a while now!"

"Oh, didn't Ultra Magnus tell you? He let me sleep here. I fed him some bullcrap story about me having abusive parents and not wanting to go home to the yelling. I did the whole crying routine and everything."

"Hmmm…very nice. Normally, I don't approve of lying to Ultra Magnus, but still…Not bad." Sentinel replied, seeming genuinely impressed. "See, you're already learning from just being in my presence."

"Keep telling yourself that…" Alice muttered.

"You say something?"

"Uh, no."

"Good. Now, I hope you've cleaned yourself up. It's time to train you." Transforming, he opened the door and the girl climbed in.

--

The two stopped at the park, where small children played and teens made out. "Ugh. What exactly are those organics doing?" Sentinel asked, as a couple began kissing on a park bench.

Alice looked around slyly before asking, "Is your interior soundproof?"

"…Yeeees…Why?"

"Well, then I won't be heard explaining."

"Explaining what?" Sentinel asked nervously.

"…You shouldn't have asked." Alice replied, before launching into a lengthy and detailed explanation about the 'birds and the bees'.

--

After roughly thirty earth minutes, Sentinel's door swung open. "Out. NOW." He gasped. "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"Well, you did ask." Alice replied, smiling.

"How is that all even possible? I mean…URGH. " Sentinel asked, transforming and shivering. Running off into an alley, there was a loud retching sound…The Elite Guard mech came back after two minutes, looking disgusted. "Remind me never to ask you about that subject EVER AGAIN."

"Jeez, fine! Well, how does YOUR race do it then?" She asked, head tilted to one side.

"When you're older, I'll let you know." He growled dismissively. "Now, stop changing the subject and pay attention: See that organic over there?" He pointed to a boy around her age with brown hair and a green jacket. He was buying ice cream for himself and the girl next to him. Alice recognized the girl as the bully from school, and she growled inwardly. "You remember her, don't you? I'm sure you do. Now, how are we to exact our revenge on that brat?" The blue mech asked.

"Aren't I supposed to be working out?" She asked.

"Yes, but being underhanded is top priority when you want to be tough! Now think."

The girl scanned her memory, recalling all that the bullies had put her through…and one plan stood out.

Sheer and utter embarrassment in front of a boy.

"Sentinel, think you could cause a distraction for her boyfriend over there while I mess with Miss Priss over there?" She asked.

"You want me to be the center of attention? I like the way you think, kid." He replied, transformed, and zoomed off.

Soon enough, the mech was standing in the center of the park, making a spectacle of himself. Naturally, most of the guys went up to him, astonished by his muscles and his constant flexing. Stealing up to a bush, she gathered up a couple of caterpillars and a preying mantis before sneaking up to the girl who had her back to Alice With stealth that would have made Jazz proud, Alice slipped a caterpillar down her shirt and allowed the mantis, who was eating a caterpillar, to crawl onto her head.

--

Nearby, another mech and his human friend were hanging out nearby. Bumblebee had gotten Sari ice cream, and the child was enjoying it, when Bee snorted, "Oh great. What's that pompous jerk doing here?" Sari looked up to see Sentinel Prime flexing for a crowd of humans.

"I don't know. Maybe he just wants attention?" Sari suggested, before a scream split the air. A girl ran about, pulling at her hair, yelling about a spider in her hair. Another girl stood nearby, laughing her butt off. As the first girl ran in her direction, the second girl's foot shot out, and the other girl tripped and fell into a puddle of mud. Laughing, the second girl gave a thumbs-up to Sentinel and ran off. The mech transformed, pulling up beside the girl, who hopped in as the mech drove off.

Bee couldn't believe what he'd just seen. "Was that…Sentinel Prime with a human?" He asked.

"I though he hated humans." Sari replied. "That's what you said, right Bee?"

"Yeah…That's what I though." Bee muttered before transforming. "Wanna go investigate?"

"Yeah, let's."

--

Meanwhile, Alice sat in the front passenger seat, laughing. "Wow, this being tough stuff's easy!" She said. "No wonder you're so good at it."

"Stick with me, fleshy, and I'll show you all you need to know." Sentinel replied with a chuckle. "This is only the tip of the asteroid!"

"Don't you mean iceberg?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure whatever." He answered hastily. "Alright, now we must work on your stamina and strength. You'll be able to pull off more stunts like that once you're in better shape."

From a little ways back, Bee and Sari followed the snow plow, still confused as to why he was hanging around with a human, although they were already formulating ideas..

--

Soon, the two were back in the Elite Guard cruiser. Sentinel had led the girl to the training room that the Elite Guard used to stay fit during long periods of inactivity. "Alright, kid, we'll start off small. I've used what you humans call the internet to acquire fitness equipment." He motioned to an enclosed area where there were a couple of punching bag, a treadmill and a weight bench. "It's not much, but I have been studying what you humans call gyms and I saw the most of these lying around, so I figured they were the most basic."

"Um, Sentinel, how did you pay for this?" Alice asked.

"I punched in random numbers in the space that asked for what you humans called a credit card. After that, I let our computer deal with the technicalities."

"Ohhh…"

"Now, let's get your training started. If you want to be tough, I'll have to go drill sergeant on your aft! First of all, I want twenty transform-ups, missy!"

"What's a transform-up? Are they like push ups?" Alice asked.

"Oh right. You humans can't transform. Fine, do those push ups, or whatever you humans call it."

"Fine, jeez!"

--

"Thanks for letting us in, Jazz." Bee said, Sari on his shoulder. "We were wondering why Sentinel's hanging out with a human."

"Oh, that?" Jazz replied. "Well, apparently, he decided to teach her how to be 'tough', whatever that means. Either way, she's in the training room right now with Sentinel."

"What are they doing in there?" Sari asked.

"Beats me. Wanna take a look from the viewing deck?" The two nodded vigorously.

After a quick ride in an elevator, they came into a booth that appeared to be partially made of glass. Looking down into the room, they saw the blue mech standing over the girl, who was batting at the smaller punching bag, fists practically a blur. After a few moments, she stopped, panting, before resuming her battering of the unfortunate bag. The entire time, Sentinel crouched at her side, encouraging and guiding her.

"I don't believe this…" Bumblebee said, staring out at the girl, who had flopped down on her rear, panting and drinking from a large bottle of water she'd brought with her. "Sentinel's actually coaching a human."

"You think you're surprised? Ultra Magnus nearly off lined out of shock when the girl came to him. Not only that, it appears that he's letting her stay here while Sentinel's training her."

"No way!" Sari said. "That jerk freaked out when I got close to him, and now he's letting another person sleep in his room like a pet dog?"

"Well, not in his room, mind you. He's arranged for the girl to sleep in her own quarters, complete with bathroom. Apparently, plumbing, as you humans call it, isn't exactly difficult to set up." Jazz explained.

"Wow…" Bumblebee looked down at Sentinel, who appeared to be giving the girl advice when it came to hitting, and was now directing her to the treadmill. "This…is a lot to take in." He leaned on the control panel, and there was an ominous clicking noise.

"Battle sequence, activated." A computer announced. "Level: 752. Codename: Kiss Your Aft Goodbye."

"Oh slag!" Jazz yelled, shoving Bee aside and tried to cancel the command, but it was too late.

--

"What the-?" Sentinel looked up. Someone had activated the holo-battle sequence…Wait, he recognized this level. "Uh-oh." He said, and turned to Alice.

"What's going on?" She asked, stepping off the treadmill.

"Looks like we're getting an impromptu lesson in combat." Sentinel said, drawing his energy lance and shield. "I recommend you follow my lead." The scenery around them changed, and the two were staring at a cratered and debris-riddled battlefield.

"Yikes…This is just like that video game…" Alice commented, right before three large mechs holding guns seemingly came out of nowhere and opened fire on the two. Sentinel charged at the mechs, while Alice yelped and dove for cover. Two of the holo-mechs advanced on Sentinel, while the third dug through the rubble, looking for the girl.

--

"Uh, what did I just do?" Bee asked, staring down at the battlefield below.

"You just stuck the two in a simulated battle, that's what!" Jazz replied. "The problem is, this is a custom level made by Ultra Magnus, and it's got a password lock. Only he's got that password that will disable it, and he's off on business. The only other way to deactivate the level is to complete it."

"What happens if they don't complete the level?" Sari asked worriedly.

"That's just it: Ultra Magnus is usually here to supervise this simulation, and he stops it if it gets to rough. Otherwise, he lets it run wild on us…" Jazz's voice faded, and the two knew what that meant.

"So, what's the objective of this simulation, anyway?" Bee asked.

"Get back to the base alive, but no one's been able to do that…" Jazz turned to the two. "You two stay here and let me know if anything happens, I'll go try and contact Ultra Magnus." The cyberninja darted out of the room. Bee and Sari could only watch as the horror unfolded.

--

Sentinel was so busy fending off the holo-mechs that he'd completely forgotten about Alice. The girl had hidden in a pile of debris, and the giant drone was digging through it to get to her. She was scared out of her head, but she forced herself to calm down. Rubbing her sore arms, she tunneled through the mess, and emerged on the other side. Sneaking behind the larger bot, she dashed forward through the battlefield, running past separate battles going on, and dodging the several stray plasma blasts coming from somewhere in the distance. "Wait, don't these virtual simulators always have some sort of point?" She asked herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar. Turning, she saw the huge drone from earlier running towards her. It was slow, yes, but it had larger strides, so no matter how fast she ran, it eventually caught up to her. Snagging her with a clawed hand, she squirmed out of its grip and clung onto its leg armor for dear life. It had not seen where she had gone, so it kept scanning the immediate area.

She was exhausted, but the momentum of the drone's leg launched her upwards until she was on the back of the mech's neck. Tugging at a panel at the back of the mech's head while trying to get a grip, she managed to pry it off and rip several wires out of the attack drone's processor in the process, yelping as sparks flew. The drone bucked and writhed, but it soon hit full throttle, dashing through the mess in such a manner that made it hard for the girl to hang on. After a rough ride, the thing finally broke down, tripping on several rocks and sent the girl flying through the air. She landed with a bump in front of a large if not battered building with an Autobot insignia on the door. The drone behind her gave a violent twitch, causing her to yelp and press her back to the door.

"Simulation complete." A voice said, and the scene before her faded to white.

--

Sentinel, who had been so close to being off lined permanently, looked up. The drones that were about to attack him froze and then disappeared. Shaking his head, he saw Alice standing all the way across the room, panting.

"Well…" He said, standing up shakily. "Enough of this warm-up scrap. Let's get to the real lesson."

"You've got to be shittin' me." Alice rasped. "Please telling me you're shittin' me!"

--

After a little more training, Alice tottered off to her room and fell instantly asleep the second she hit the bed.

Meanwhile, Bee and Sari had reported to Ultra Magnus and Jazz to what they had seen Alice and Sentinel do.

"My, this is a certainly talented young human." Ultra Magnus commented. "First, she manages to get Sentinel to train her, now this."

Jazz, however, was astounded. "She pretty much rode that drone to the finish line! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Sir, if you don't mind me saying, it all looked like an accident." Bumblebee remarked. Sari nodded in agreement.

"Nevertheless, we must keep an optic on that human."

"Yes, sir."


	3. Reunions and New Pals

**A/N Oi. Yeah, you readers. REVIEW PLEASE or so help me Primus I'll give this story the most clichéd ending EVER. **

**Ah, yes, so Sentinel (AKA Karma's Chew toy) has really gotten into training ****Alice****, but will she prove that the student can and will surpass the master, if given time?**

-----

A few weeks after the incident in the training room, Sentinel decided it was best to lock the door to the viewing booth before starting their training…if only to avoid repeating that disaster. Aside from that, Alice was growing stronger and faster, but she had become restless in the plain white room.

It was then she requested something called a field trip.

"What? Why would you want to go out there, with those nasty organics?" Sentinel asked. "Isn't the walk from your school and back enough exercise?"

"Uh, I'm a nasty organic, remember?" Alice retorted. "And besides, I want to explore and practice my moves! Speaking of which, why haven't you taught me anything new lately?"

"Uh…Because…I've been planning that for the field trip!" Sentinel replied, regaining his composure surprisingly quickly. "Yes, we'll be taking a tour around this city, Whatzitcalled…"

"Detroit?"

"Yes, Detroit."

"Riiight…"

--

The day of the trip, Alice caught her 'mentor' smuggling a can of disinfectant in his subspace.

"Come on, you big cyber-chicken!" She scoffed. "You can't honestly still be afraid of organic germs after hanging out with me!"

"Well, I KNOW you're clean. As for the rest of them…"

"Did I ever mention that you're impossible?" She groaned.

"Yes, actually."

"Ugh. Look, here's what we'll do: If you can leave the disinfectant at base, I promise to…uh…let you in on a little secret about this planet. Something that could probably save your life. Deal?"

The mech didn't look too convinced, but reluctantly agreed to her terms. However, he nearly exploded when Jazz announced something to the two…

"YOU ARE NOT GOING WITH US ON OUR TRAINING MISSION!" Sentinel boomed at the ninja.

"Hey, don't look at me." Jazz replied with a smirk. "She invited me." He nodded at Alice, who grinned and waved.

"You…Grah…" Sentinel snorted. "Fine. He can come with us. But only because he may be beneficial to your training, being a ninja and all…"

"Thanks Sentinel, you're the best"! Alice said sweetly and giving a thumbs-up to Jazz when the blue mech's back was turned.

--

After hours of driving around Detroit, pointing out the various examples of bullying, Sentinel parked at the docks. Jazz had left a little while earlier due to an emergency call from Ultra Magnus. Alice had bought lunch at a burger joint, but the snow plow had refused to let her eat in his interior. So, she sat at the edge of the dock, munching away on a cheeseburger.

As she polished off the soda and fries, she glanced out into the harbor. "Hey, Sentinel?" She said, nudging him.

"Hughn?" He grunted. He'd been resting as the girl ate. "What?"

"What's that?" She pointed out into the distance, where a dark shape loomed out in the distance.

"Oh, that. That's just an island."

"An island? Wow! Can we go? Please? PLEASE?!" She whined, nudging his tires more insistently.

"I don't think you'd like it. It's got these fire-breathing monsters living on it."

"Really?" She replied, eyes wide.

"Yes really." He replied in a final sounding voice. Finally, he'd deterred her from going…

"COOL! Now I really wanna go!"

…or not.

--

Sentinel did not like boats. He had a bad history with boats. Considering that the last time he'd been on a boat, he'd been a decapitated head, might have had something to do with it.

As he sat on the swaying deck, Alice asked, "What's up, big guy? Seasick?"

"Nooo…I just don't like boats…" He grumbled.

"Meh, whatever." The girl shrugged. "So you've been on this island before? What's it like?"

"Just a rock out in the middle of a lake with some organic creatures and stuff growing on it. Aside from the monsters, it's not really interesting."

"Huh. I bet there's some treasure buried somewhere on it!"

"I doubt it."

"Must you always rain on my parade?" Alice pouted.

"Is that a good thing?"

"No, it's not."

"Then yes."

"I hate you sometimes."

"Likewise."

--

As soon as they docked, Alice was off and running into the jungle, whooping and hollering like a crazy person.

Unfortunately, her noisy ways would not only attract the attention of a certain group of mechs, but the attention of another inhabitant of the island.

"Would you keep it down?" Sentinel yelled. "They'll hear us!"

"Well, you shouldn't be talking, man. You're loud too!"

"Well, that's just so I can say what I want to say over YOUR yelling!"

"Ugh! You know what? I'll just go and find that treasure myself! And you know what? YOU DON'T GET A SHARE!"

"What treasure are you slaggin' talking about?!" Sentinel huffed, but the girl had already stormed off, grumbling and in a foul mood. "Fine, who needs you, you stupid fleshy!"

--

"What in the-?" A feminine voice growled. That voice…where had she heard that voice before? "Oh no, that can't be…Hmmm, if it is him…My day just got interesting."

--

"Stupid giant robot, pain in the butt, pompous windbag of a kiss-ass…" Alice growled, crashing through the brush, not caring what direction she went in…or who heard her.

"Yeah, why am I even helping him, that spineless son of a…Huh?" She looked around. Where had the path gone? "Oh no. I think I'm lost."

--

"Damn organic little insect…Who needs her? I can just redeem myself in Ultra Magnus' optics on my own. I have half a mind to leave her here." Sentinel grumbled, picking his way through the foliage with great care. "But still…if I came back without her, I'd be in deep slag with the boss…" He sighed. "I'd better go find her…and then we can go our separate ways…"

--

Alice, as easily frightened as she was, wasn't stupid. She figured that in order to get back, she'd have to walk away from the mountain…But still, she wanted to see what exactly was at the very top…Making her way through the forest, she made it into a place free of trees. It was there she decided to scramble up the rocky surface of the mountainside.

About halfway up, there was a terrible screeching noise. Looking up, she screamed as a giant pterosaur dove down towards her, claws outstretched…The next thing she knew, she was in the air, the massive claws locked around her. It would be stupid to try and break free, they were that high up… Oddly enough, the creature didn't appear to want to eat her. In fact, it was making a massive downwards spiral towards the mountain, although now she could see the massive crater at the center.

--

Sentinel had heard the girl's scream echo across the island.

"Oh slag. Now what's she gotten herself into?" He asked aloud. "Well, I'd better save her…Or should I just leave her to whatever trouble she's created? Nonono, Ultra Magnus will DESTROY me if I do that." He winced at the mental image of being scolded by his superior.

"Yah, I think I'll save her."

--

The creature had dropped Alice on a grassy plain near the bottom of the slope. There were fewer trees here, and the sky was framed by the crater's walls. But her focus wasn't on the surrounding nature. It was on the massive T-rex and triceratops in front of her. The dinosaurs roared as she screamed.

The T-rex, obviously the leader was advancing on the terrified girl, looking at her curiously. That's when she remembered that she was training to be tough. What would Sentinel think if he saw her like this, huddled like a little baby against the wall, wailing for someone to come save her? He'd never let her live THAT down! Summoning up what little courage she had left and what little knowledge Sentinel had bestowed upon her, she roared at the top of her lungs, "NO! BAD DINO! BACK OFF!"

What happened next surprised her.

The T-rex and its followers backed off, apparently startled by the noise made by the creature that was clearly smaller than them. She could have been knocked over by a feather. "Good boy…" She said hoarsely.

What happened afterwards shocked her further.

The T-Rex stood up and transformed, while its companions followed suit. The tallest mech prodded the girl and grunted, "You tiny human have big voice. You human too loud."

Alice didn't answer, as she was too busy looking at the mech's huge, flaming sword that he held in his other hand.

--

Sentinel was making his way through the forest, spurred forward by the screaming and the roaring. If Ultra Magnus figured out that he'd lost the girl…He shuddered at the though. He was so busy thinking that he didn't notice the massive spider web ahead and blundered into it.

"What the-?" He struggled to get out of the sticky net, but no such luck. "Great. My day's going along so well. I wonder what's next? I figure out that one of those creepy spiders from a long time ago followed me here and used this web to trap me?"

"Well, if you must be specific…" A voice simpered, and the Elite Guard mech found himself looking into four red eyes. He screamed a girly scream, and the spider began to laugh.

"Ah, Sentinel, I forgot you had that kind of scream." It chuckled.

"W-what? How do you know my name?" He demanded. But the spider had dropped to the floor…and after a brief transformation, a strange-looking femme stood before him, smiling a venomous, circuit-chilling smile.

"What's the matter, Sentinel, hun? Don't remember an old friend?"

"I don't have any freaks as friends!" He growled, and the femme bristled.

"Huh, that's a damn shame, because I remember you had a certain little femme friend…who you left to die on a certain planet after a little expedition that…" She paused suddenly. "…Was YOUR IDEA. Man, have I been angry at the wrong guy…"

"Oh, you knew Elita-One? I bet you ate her, you monster!" He snarled.

"…Wow, I don't remember you being so clueless, Sentinel. I mean, come on now." She shook her head in a disappointed manner. "But, then again, if Optimus and I could sneak that turbo-cat into your locker and watch it attempt to claw your face off…" She laughed sinisterly.

"What!?" He gasped. "Wait a klik…" He looked closely at her. "Elita?"

"And NOW he gets it!" She spat. "Primus, you're dumber than when we were younger!"

"What happened to you?" He asked, astonished.

"Well, I WAS going to blame this little makeover on Optimus, but now that I think about it, I believe going questing for energon on an alien planet was YOUR idea, and that Optimus actually made an ATTEMPT to save me."

"Er, well, we were younger! I wasn't as smart as I am now!" He replied, but the femme wasn't about to be soothed.

"Save the slag, you jerk!" She hissed. "It's your fault that I'm this way, and until I get my old body back, I am going to make your life a living PIT!"

It was now Sentinel wishing that someone would come bail him out of this mess. There was nothing worse than finding out an old friend had turned against you and you couldn't pin the blame on someone else.

--

Meanwhile, Alice had found a new respect for the three other metallic inhabitants of this island, especially the pterosaur who had picked her up earlier. The Dinobots, although slightly wary due to her sudden appearance on their domain, respected her bravery and willingness to stand up to them (despite her size) and accompanied her around their habitat. She had also taken the liberty of learning their names.

"Hmmm…I wonder where Sentinel's gone off to." She asked aloud, looking around. She had perched herself on the back of Grimlock's neck, which gave her a good view of her surroundings. "Grimlock, can we get up to the top of the mountain?"

The mech grunted, and trudged up the slope followed by Snarl and Swoop. As soon as they had reached the top, the mech asked, "You fleshy see him Sentinel?"

"Honestly, I'm tired of everyone calling me Fleshy!" She huffed before scanning the horizon. "Nope, don't see him. Guys, can we take a look around the island? We're looking for a blue car robot with a big chin and an ego to match."

"Me Grimlock not know what ego look like." The T-rex grumbled.

"Ok, ok, forget the ego part. The ego is not important. Remember guys, big, blue car robot with big chin." She tapped her own chin. "Chin! Understand?" The two mute Dinobots nodded before taking off. Swoop was carving a wide arc across the sky, while Snarl trudged through the forest, demolishing everything in his path.

"Alright, Grimlock, let's go!"

"Me Grimlock leader!" The mech snarled. "Me Grimlock not need to look for Big Chin Bot! Him…him stupid!" The mech still remembered Sentinel from their first encounter, and he was still angry at the trespasser.

"Aw, come on, Grimlock! We might find something you're looking for!" Alice said encouragingly, although she wondered whether or not the mech was interested in anything in particular on this island.

The mech brightened up considerably. "We find Spider Lady?" He asked, sounding all the world like an excited child on a scavenger hunt.

"Uh…Sure, why not? Yeah, maybe we'll find that Spider Lady thing you're looking for, but only if you help me find Sentinel." Alice had absolutely no idea what a 'Spider Lady' was, but it seemed to cheer the Dinobot leader up.

The mech roared and charged off into the woods, nearly flinging his hapless rider off of his back.

--

"Aw, come on, Elita, gimme a break!"

"For the last time, my name is BlackArachnia now!" She snarled, glaring at him. Her plan had been nearly fool-proof…She had caught him, yes, but it was getting him to shut up without using venom that was the trick. She really didn't want to bite him because he…might take it the wrong way.

Mechs…

Hearing a crash in the distance and a screech high above, she looked up to see that annoying pterosaur gliding above. "Oh, that's just great…" She growled. Why were they still chasing her? She'd have to take Sentinel elsewhere if she wanted to exact her revenge…and that meant she had to drag him along with her. Great, just great.

"Alright, you pompous glitch head, listen up! I have no intention of getting caught by those Dinofreaks, so if you come with me quietly, I won't beat you into submission when we get back to my hideout."

Sentinel, being the haughty son of a glitch mouse he was, snorted. "Please! I could always beat you in sparring, even if I was going easy on you!" He boasted. "How could a femme like you beat an Elite Guard mech like me?"

That had done it. BlackArachnia had had to deal with the Decepticons' constant stream of belittling words, but there was no way she was letting Sentinel talk down to her. Not after what he'd done.

"You really want to know?" She asked in a voice that sounded both seductive and annoyed. "Well then, Sentinel…" She grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her head, ripping through the sticky webbing that had held him. It was only then that the mech noticed the Decepticon logo on her frame.

"Let me show you what I picked up from my friends, Blitzwing and Starscream."

--

Girlish screams and yells of rage echoed through the forest. Grimlock looked up, alert as a hunting dog. Those screams sounded like they were coming from his beloved Spider Lady…Growling, he roared and charged headlong towards the sound, Alice yelling and whooping excitedly. From nearby, the two other Dinobots had heard their leader's battle cry, and they sprang up to follow him.

After a few moments, a very awkward scene presented itself to the three mechs.

A strange, feminine bot had slammed Sentinel into the ground like a seasoned martial arts master. She was tossing him around like a rag doll, while he tried to get his footing, never mind defending himself. "Had enough, Sentinel darling?" She asked in a sadistic voice. "Because I can keep going if you're up to it."

Sentinel's response was little more than a pained groan.

It was then that Grimlock broke in with a cry of "SPIDER LADY!" before rushing towards her. BlackArachnia turned and hissed at him before transforming and fleeing from her fanatical followers, crying, "This isn't over, Sentinel! I'll find you again and finish what I started!"

"NOOO! Spider Lady come back!" Grimlock cried sadly. "Me Grimlock LOVE YOU!"

Alice had fallen off of Grimlock's back, and she ran over to her bruised mentor. "Sentinel? You still alive in there?" She asked, knocking her fist against his forehead.

"Hurts…to talk," He grumbled and winced at her knuckle rapping against his bruised helm. "She's…not bad…gotten better…at least."

"'She'?" Alice repeated incredulously. "Sentinel…d-did you…" A smile was crossing her face. "Did you just get beaten up by a girl?" Her smile widened as he nodded painfully.

Her laughter echoed across the island.

"Oh MAN!" She gasped between laughs. "I didn't know you could sink that low!"

"Don't laugh…" Sentinel groaned. "We…knew each other a long time ago. She knew…my weak spots, ok? I would have…Ugh…retaliated, but she's gotten…faster."

"Ah, old girlfriend?"

"You could…say that."

"Ah, that explains it then. No wonder she kicked your butt, did you dump her?"

"Well…it goes father than that. It's a long…story…that I don't feel like…telling." He rasped.

"Whatever." Alice replied. "Now, the real question is, how do we get you home?"

--

Several hours after the Spider Lady Hunt had ended, Swoop was carrying a wounded Sentinel by the shoulders and Alice on his back. The flier was grumbling something about "Big Chin Bot" being fat and heavy. After roughly dropping the mech onto the pavement and allowing the girl off, he flapped tiredly back to the island, where he could get some well-deserved rest.

"See what's happened, Sentinel?" Alice said in a chiding voice. "I told you it was a bad idea to go to that island! What were you thinking, taking me there?"

"WHAT?! What are you talking about?!" Sentinel exclaimed, having recovered enough to speak normally. "This whole trip was…" He blinked at the girl's evil smile and realized that she was picking up on his technique, and fast. "I hate you." He snorted, glaring at her.

"Aw, I love you too, Jerkface." Alice replied cheerfully.

"Germ bag."

"Clean freak."

"Fleshy...creature thing."

"Big chin."

"That was uncalled for!"

"Whatever. I'm calling Ultra Magnus to come pick us up."

"Why don't you just call Optimus and the rest of his reject team while you're at it, so they can come point and laugh at me?" Sentinel growled sarcastically.

"That's not a bad idea. Glad I though of it."

"Hey! That's my line!"

"Not anymore, buddy."

"Why you little-!"

"Yeah, I know. But you agreed to teach me, so this is actually your fault."

"…I hate you more."

"I know, man, I know."


	4. Divine Retaliation, Part 1

Sentinel was starting to have his doubts when it came to training Alice.

For one thing, he hadn't expected her to learn so much in such a short amount of time. She'd already been called to her school's office several times for retaliating against bullies. Not only that, Ultra Magnus, as wise as he was, was oblivious to her behavior. As much as Sentinel wanted to keep it that way, he still hated having to deal with her conferences.

The older mech and Alice had somehow developed a sort of father-daughter bond while Sentinel hadn't been looking. In fact, they had been seen deep in conversation about Earthly etiquette or something that Sentinel couldn't understand. Apparently, it was improper to run red lights, not stop for stop signs, and violently cuss at cops in Cybertronian when they pulled you over…Coincidently, Sentinel had done these things and more in less than three hours.

He'd been sent to the Brig for the remainder of the day because of that, leaving Alice free to interact with the other local Autobots on Earth.

--

As Jazz drove her to the Earth base and blasting his favorite song on his stereo, the topic of why Sentinel was such a jerk inevitably came up.

"What's your opinion, Jazz?" She asked. "Is there any reason why Sentinel acts like someone shoved a lamppost up his butt?"

Jazz merely laughed and replied, "No one really knows. He's touchy about that subject, but if you really want the details, Optimus Prime might know. You might have to soften him up first, y'know, get him to trust you."

"Please! If Sentinel hates him, I'll be great pals with him. Besides, I, Alice O'nett, have mad social skills."

"Is that why you went and made friends with Sentinel? I heard he's teaching you how to have self esteem."

"That's what he wants you to think."

"Oh really? Well, either way, we're here."

"This is the place?" Alice asked. She looked the building over, slightly surprised. "I'd have though that their place would be a lot fancier than this."

"That's what Sentinel said when he first came here," Jazz commented, transforming. "Except he wasn't so nice about it."

"That's Sentinel for you."

--  
"Jazz! What's up?" Bumblebee looked up from the TV and waved as the two strode inside. "We need a fourth for OffRoad Warriors Max! We got it yesterday!"

"You finally got it? Awesome!" The mech ran over and grabbed a controller, leaving Alice standing at the door.

For such a shabby exterior, the Autobots had a very neat and pretty awesome décor. "Not bad, considering they've been here for, like, a year." She muttered, stepping farther inside. She wasn't overly fond of video games, but she did enjoy watching them play. "Hey, Jazz, mind introducing me?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure," He mumbled, too mesmerized by the game to pay her much attention. "Alice, this is Bumblebee, Sari, and Bulkhead."

"Hey, I think I remember you," Bumblebee said, glancing at her for only a moment before returning to the game. "You're that kid who hangs out with Sentinel, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, is he really holding you against your will?" Bulkhead asked, optics never leaving the screen.

"Wha-NO! He's my friend and my new partner!" She retorted. "He's teaching me how to be tough."

At the word 'friend', a massive on-screen collision flashed. Apparently, Jazz's character had come out of nowhere and rammed into the three others. As Jazz did a victory dance, Bee yelped at Alice, "What, are you out of your mind?! Sentinel Prime is the biggest, most egotistical jerk this side of the universe! Why in the world did you ask for his help?"

"Well, he just sorta…was the only one available at the time, considering he's got no friends." Alice explained, grinning slightly. "Besides, he's not much of a jerk when you get to know him."

"What the slag is going on in here?" A grouchy yell came from deeper in the base.

"Nothing, Ratchet," Sari yelled back. "Just playing video games."

It was then that Alice noticed the key hanging around Sari's neck. "Hey, Sari, what's that?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, that's just my key." She responded. "I mostly use it to repair my friends if they get damaged."

"Oh, wow, it can do that? How'd you get it?" Alice asked, looking down at the key in an interested manner. "I mean, if you feel like telling me…"

"It's a long story, but, long story short, it was infused with the power of the Allspark, a Cybertronian artifact filled with raw power." Sari was about to go on, but there was a blip from Jazz's comlink.

As the mech answered, there was a loud screech of anger from the other side. "JAZZ, YOU INSUBORDINATE GLITCH! WHERE DID YOU TAKE ALICE?"

"Whoa, calm down, Sentinel!" Jazz responded. "I just took her over to Optimus' pad to hang out with the others-"

"YOU WHAT?! If you don't get her back here…"

"Alright, alright, fine! I'm heading back there now." Shutting it off, he turned to the others and said apologetically, "Sorry guys, but I'm gonna have to cut this visit short."

"That's alright, Jazz," Bee responded. "Man, Sentinel's such a slaghead…"

"Yeah, well, unfortunately for us, he's our superior," Jazz shrugged and transformed. "I just wish someone would put him in his place. Come on, Alice, we'd better get going."

"Bye, guys. It was nice meeting you!" Alice waved goodbye from Jazz's window as he drove off.

--

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Sentinel practically howled at Jazz. "She's MY human! You could have gotten her contaminated with organic germs!"

"Oh, 'YOUR human', Sentinel? Last time I checked, she was your friend, not your pet! Ugh! I have no idea why that human's hanging around with you!"

"She happens to LIKE 'hanging out' with me!"

"Hey guys. Why all the yelling?" Alice poked her head from around the corner, a towel wrapped around her head. Sentinel had ordered her to take a bath, and she had reluctantly complied. "I thought I heard my name out here…"

"It's nothing, Alice, nothing at all…" Jazz growled and stormed off.

"What's up with him?" The human asked.

"No idea." Sentinel replied before turning to look at her. "I trust you're decent, as you humans say."

"Well, yeah. Dude, I'm not going to come out here butt naked, even if you are a giant robot."

"Hm. Alright, we've got important matters to discuss. Come, we'll take a 'walk'."

--

As the two emerged from the Elite Guard ship, Sentinel began by saying, "You show incredible promise, and that's why I do not feel comfortable letting you laze around with lower mechs, like Optimus' group."

"Huh. Funny, they seem really nice."

"That they may be, but they are nothing more than a straggling splinter group. You mustn't spoil your image by associating yourself with them. That being said, I think it's about time you had an assessment."

"…Wow, Sentinel, that's a lot of big words," The human said in mock awe. "Did you make this speech while you were in the Brig?

"…Yes, but that's not the point. I think it's about time you showed me how much you've learned."

"But I haven't learned anything."

"So you say, but, again, you have potential. Stop giving me that look, I haven't even told you what I'll be assessing you on yet. I want you to prank the slag out of Optimus Prime's group. ALL OF THEM, do you hear me? Spare no one."

"But, they seem like their cool guys…"

"Either way, you must do it."

"I don't have to! You aren't the boss of me!"

"Well, unless you'd like to go back to being a nobody, then fine, you can be dismissed. But those stragglers might not think so much of you if you don't show up with Ultra Magnus or Jazz. They might just shun you."

Alice winced. True, she wished she didn't have to do this, but… "I hate you sometimes." She growled. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Good. Now, for the rules: You'll get no help from ANYONE, not even me, you have seven days to prank them all at least once, and you will have to report back to me with what you did and to whom. I'll decide at the end of the seven days if you pass or not. I will allow a period of three days dedicated to preparations, but after that, the clock is ticking, no exceptions. Also, you aren't allowed to tell anyone. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Good."

--

The next day, Alice was out with Jazz once again. As they drove through the city, Jazz asked, "Something wrong, Alice? You seem kind of down today."

"It's nothing, Jazz. I'm ok, just a little tired." A sudden explosion from ahead made the mech screech to a halt. "What the heck?"

Letting Alice out and transforming, Jazz ran forward, nunchuks at the ready.

Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Sari were taking cover behind some debris, as a small girl on a floating unicorn while brandishing a wand was throwing a temper tantrum outside a toystore. "Jazz, thank Primus you're here!" Bee yelled. "This kid's out of control!"

"Is that all?" Jazz asked, looking up.

"GO AWAY, UGLY ROBOT!" The girl screamed, blasting Jazz with a rainbow-colored blast that knocked him backwards. "I DON'T LIKE YOU!"

"Yeah, Professor Princess is a brat, isn't she?" Bulkhead asked, pulling the stunned mech behind a barricade. "We have no idea why she's acting like this."

Meanwhile, Alice had arrived on the scene, peaking from behind a large pile of debris. Ducking just in time to avoid a rainbow blast, she spotted the others. Scurrying towards them, she panted, "Man, someone's gotta put that kid in time-out."

"Yeah, but we can't really hurt a human, even if it's a bratty one." Jazz replied.

"Well, if we can calm her down long enough, we might be able to get her ready for the police, or her parents, to deal with her." Turning to Bee and Bulkhead, she asked, "Can you guys be a distraction while Jazz, Sari and I find something that we can distract her with?"

"We're on it!" The yellow mech replied, as they ran from behind their shield. As the girl screeched and attempted to blast them into oblivion, the three snuck into the now demolished toy store.

"Now, what do we use to calm her down?" Sari asked.

"Well, just by looking at her and her…" she smirked. "'Weapon', I can tell she's all into pink and rainbows. We should start looking for something shiny and maybe pastel-colored. Start looking!"

After a few minutes, Jazz's voice sounded from somewhere behind some rubble. "I think this might work. What do you guys think?" The mech pulled out what appeared to be a life-sized ballerina doll with an absurdly large wind-up key in its back. Its dress was a bit tattered due to the explosions, but it reposed peacefully in Jazz's hands.

"It's a bit battered. She might not go for it if it's dirty and messed up." Alice mused. "Sari, can I use that key of yours?"

"Well, this IS an emergency…Alright." Taking it from her neck, she handed it off to Alice. The girl removed the wind-up key and replaced it with Sari's. She gave it a few good turns and it sprang to attention.

--

Bumblebee and Bulkhead had ducked behind the piles of debris as the blast came down thick and heavy. "Slag it! Where are they with that pacifier for that kid?!" The yellow mech yelled.

"Actually, we're right here." The two jumped as Jazz seemingly appeared behind them. Soft music filled the air, and the doll, Alice and Sari came from behind Jazz. "Well, think this'll work?"

"I hope so…" Alice took a deep breath and yelled. "Hey, kid! Look what we've got!"

Professor Princess looked to see the doll dance gracefully across the rubble. She looked at it for a few moments before yelling, "I already have one of THOSE!" She attempted to blast the distraction away, but it simply danced away from the rainbows that threatened to decimate it. "Hey, hold still!" She yelled, right before Bulkhead's wrecking ball knocked her off her floating unicorn and separated her from her wand.

As Bumblebee picked the crying girl up by the back of her shirt, Alice rushed forward and removed Sari's key from the doll's back. It immediately let its head flop forward and stood still. Handing the key back to its owner, she commented, "This thing's really powerful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's not a toy so I can't use it for just anything anymore." Sari replied.

"Hmm…" Alice turned back to the still toy. "Think they'll let me keep it?"

"Why would you want that thing? Professor Princess has one!" Sari asked.

"Well, I kinda like it. Besides, just because I like giant robots doesn't mean I can't act like a girl once in a long while."

"Agreed." Sari remarked as they watched the police take Professor Princess away in a cruiser.

--

"And what is THAT?" Sentinel looked down at Alice, who'd brought the doll home with her.

"It's a doll. I used it to pacify a raging girl on a floating unicorn." Alice replied in an innocent voice.

"Am I expected to believe that? Please, what do you think I am, an idiot?" Sentinel scoffed.

"Well, if the shoe fits…" Alice grumbled.

"What did you say?"

"I said, I did! Really! Just ask Jazz!"

"Hmmm…Humph. Fine."

"So can I keep it, please?" Alice practically begged.

"Fine, fine, just make sure it's clean and it isn't contaminated or something. Don't forget, you still have two Earth days of preparation before you get assessed." He turned his back on her and strode down the hallway.

As soon as he was gone, Alice stomped her feet. "Ugh! Why did I ever ask him for help?!" Grabbing the doll, she grumbled, "I wish I could put him in his place…Oh well. Come on, Dolly, we'd better start planning. First off, though, we'd better clean you up. Last thing I want is that jerk taking away my partner in crime. Also, I think you deserve a better name. Dolly sounds kind of lame. I'll think of something eventually…" She giggled. "Look at me, talking to a doll. You'd think I was crazy or something."

--

As the girl slept on her desk amid crumpled pieces of paper, she was unaware of the shadowed figure enter her room around one in the morning.

Two red optics glowed in the room. It had started slinking through the halls around eleven PM, looking around curiously and examining the various locks on the doors…as though it was getting a better grip on its surroundings…


	5. Divine Retaliation Part 2

Alice awoke to the sounds of arguing outside her room. "Wha-? What's so important that Jazz and Sentinel have to go at it at this hour?" Grumbling, yawning and stretching, she trudged out of her room. Had she been more awake, she would have noticed that her room had been tided up and that one of her plans had been laid out on the floor beside her bed.

--

"Guys, what the heck is the problem?" Alice asked, looking sleepily up at the two furious Autobots who stood on either side of Ultra Magnus.

Jazz spoke up first. "Alright, let me explain: I wake up, and my room's trashed! What's more, my CDs are gone! When I went to report this to Ultra Magnus, I bump into Sentinel, who's got my stuff in his hands! He dropped my stuff and ran, but I caught up to him after he rounded a corner, and now he says he didn't take anything."

"That's because I didn't!" The enraged blue mech snarled. "Look, I had just woken up because of a loud crash, and I poke my head out of my room to investigate. That's when Jazz slams into me and starts accusing me of crimes I didn't commit!"

"Well, explain how you got a hold of my CDs!"

"You're crazy! I never touched your things!"

"Enough!" Ultra Magnus boomed, and both mechs were silenced. "Jazz, this is a serious accusation. Sentinel, however, is innocent until proven guilty. I will review the security tapes and make a decision. In the meantime, I want both of you off this ship. When you both can stand to be in each other's presence, you will be allowed onboard. Any fighting will land both of you in the Brig. Am I clear, gentlemechs?" Both mechs muttered angrily, but nodded. Ultra Magnus glared at the two, and growled, "Good."

--

Sentinel wasn't in the mood to deal with Alice, so he'd nearly flattened her in his haste to get as far from Jazz as possible. "Sentinel, wait!" She'd called, but he obviously hadn't heard her.

Jazz pulled up beside her. "Don't mind that glitch, Alice. Come on, I'll take you to hang out with the others."

--

"Hey, Alice, how ya been?" It was Bumblebee and Sari that greeted the two outside the Autobot earth base.

"We've been better…" Jazz huffed, letting Alice out and transforming.

"Why? What happened?"

"Jazz said that he caught Sentinel with some of his CDs." Alice explained.

"Really? I didn't think Sentinel liked Earth music." Bumblebee commented.

"Neither did I," Jazz growled. "But maybe he's just got a really big vendetta against anything organic."

"Then why am I in the picture?" The teen who stood beside Jazz asked. "Does that mean I'm just something he can hide behind?"

"Maybe," Bumblebee replied thoughtfully, "Maybe, he's saying you playing your music too loud, Jazz."

The ninja chuckled. "You've got a point, Bee. Now, how about a little rematch in OffRoad Warriors? Best two out of three."

--

Ultra Magnus sighed in a weary manner. Those two fought like sparklings sometimes, and he was sick of it. At the very least they were out, about, and, more importantly, away from each other. Primus, it was all he could do to keep them from killing each other sometimes. As he mused, he failed to notice the blue mech stride silently into his study. It was only when his visitor tapped him on his shoulder that he even bothered to look up.

"Ah, Sentinel. Back so soon?" The Autobot commander asked. Sentinel nodded mutely before his protective battle mask went up and the tip of his energy lance was pointed at his leader.

"On your feet, you rusted pile of slag. I'm sick of having to take your orders like some gutless minion. We're going to settle this right here, right now."

Ultra Magnus couldn't believe this. Had Sentinel lost his mind? How dare he stage such a badly planned mutiny?' "Sentinel, stand down! I don't care if you're mad about earlier, but this is treason. Treason, Sentinel!"

"Does it look like I care? That's exactly why I'm taking you down here, where there won't be any witnesses." His subordinate snarled menacingly.

--

As Jazz was, once again, schooling Bee and Sari in OffRoard Warriors, his com link blipped.

"Yeah, sir?" He asked. His face contorted in anger and horror, as he listened to his commander. "I'm on my way. Alice! Alice, where are you?" He found the girl behind the couch, napping.

"What happened, Jazz?" she asked, eyes droopy as the mech drove back to the base.

"It's Sentinel. He's attacked Ultra Magnus."

--

"I'm telling you, it wasn't me!" The disgraced mech sat in the Brig, looking pleadingly up at his superior. 'Look, I wasn't here the entire day, and I just got back now! Please, you gotta believe me."

Jazz strode towards Ultra Manus, whose faceplates only showed anger and disappointment. "Sir, what's going on? You only mentioned that Sentinel…"

"Jazz, talk some sense into Ultra Magnus!" Sentinel pleaded. "I didn't do it, really. You, of all mechs, must believe me right?"

There was a thick silence, then "I don't know, Sentinel. I have no idea what to believe anymore. Until we can get matters straightened out, I guess you'll have to stay down here."

Sentinel couldn't believe this. His entire career, down the hole because of a crime he didn't commit. "Can't I at least talk to Alice?" He asked.

"Very well." Ultra Magnus replied before turning to Jazz. "Jazz, get Alice down here. Stay with her…just in case."

--

Alice looked up at her 'mentor', pacing in his cell like a caged lion. "Sentinel, what's going on? Why'd you attack Ultra Magnus?" She asked, earning her a disapproving look from the mech.

"Not you too!" He groaned. "Listen, I need you to prove my innocence, alright? Surely you still have SOME belief in me, even if the others don't." He looked over at Jazz, who stood a little farther along the hall.

"Well…" She really didn't feel like vouching for the jerk, but she hated the look he was giving her. It was soooo…pathetic. "Alright, I'll try and reason with Ultra Magnus, but I'm not sure how he'll react."

"Thank you!" Sentinel replied, a little too enthusiastically for Alice's taste.

"You so owe me for this if I bail you out." She snorted. "I don't play lawyer for just anyone, you know."

--

"Ultra Magnus, sir?"

"Ah, Alice. What brings you here?"

"Sir, I think you've wrongful imprisoned Sentinel Prime. As his protégé/ self-appointed lawyer, I want evidence of his wrong doing."

"I see." He said. He smiled inwardly at the girl's loyalty to the mech. "Very well. I will allow you to see the security tapes."

--

Alice watched the feed with a deadpan expression. She'd watched way too many shows involving this sort of thing, and she could see a gaping flaw in the evidence.

"Sir, I'd like to say that Sentinel Prime is a gutless lackey. How he would manage to pluck up the courage for this is beyond me. Besides, there is something very odd about this video feed. Either you need to update the visuals, or Sentinel Prime has gotten two shades of blue lighter. Plus, I don't remember his energy lance being that long."

"Hmmm…I see your point on his lance, but how would you know about his coloration?" Ultra Magnus asked. At this, Alice blushed. Sentinel had ordered her to paint a picture of him a while back. When she had asked why, he'd merely told her that in case he ever had to leave Earth, he'd have something to remember by. However, he wanted it the exact same shade as his armor, and she'd had to look for about an hour in order to find the right shade, never mind actually PAINTING the damn thing.

"I've been hanging out with him for so long, I guess I can spot a difference." She replied, grinning nervously. "Besides, Sentinel may be a pompous prat, but he's as loyal as I am to the Autobots. Please give him another chance, sir."

Ultra Magnus gave her a weary smile. "Very well. I will give Sentinel the benefit of the doubt, but I need someone to keep an optic on him."

"I'll do it, sir. I already hang out with him too much anyway!"

"Fine. You'll be his official 'parole officer'."

"I won't let you down, sir!" She said, saluting.

--

As Alice dragged herself back to her room, she ran into Jazz, who was holding a small package wrapped in brown paper. "Hey, Alice," he called, "there was something outside for you. I had it checked out, and there's nothing suspicious about it. Here you go." He handed her the long package before walking off.

"Huh. Weird. It's not my birthday, is it?" She asked, carrying it to her room. Ripping off the wrapping, she gasped.

She held up a black and red electric guitar. Clearly, someone didn't know her that well, because she didn't play an instrument. Oh well. It was still pretty cool. Strumming it, it gave off a soft 'kreeengh' before falling silent again. Nodding in a satisfied way, she strode into her room.

She nearly dropped her gift in shock.

Her room was a disaster area. Everything, save for her bed and her desk, had been knocked over. The only other thing still standing was her still unnamed doll. It stood in the corner, keeping its silent vigil.

"Holy crap. What happened here?" She asked, setting the guitar aside to pick up the fallen papers that lay before her. "Who would trash my room?" Turning to her doll, she asked, "You didn't do it, did you? Oh, but you couldn't have. You can't even move without being wound up. Speaking of which, what happened to your key?" Searching through the debris, she finally found the missing wind up key under her upturned trash basket. "Man, how'd this get here? Oh well." Taking the key, she stuck it in the slot and twisted it a few times.

The doll sprang to life, twirling gracefully through the mess, carefully picking its way across the room to some unheard music. "Man, you must have some kind of sensors," Alice said, sitting on her bed to watch it twirl around the room. "I think I'll call you Tiktok. Yeah, I guess it would be a better name than Dolly or something like that."

After a few minutes, the doll curtsied and froze into its original stance. Sighing, Alice stood up and grabbed the waste basket. "Better clean this up before I get to sleep tonight…"

After an hour of tidying up, the exhausted girl gave herself a quick bath before turning in.

--

Around one in the morning, a figure strode out of the ship towards an awaiting car. Perched on the figure's arm was a metallic bird, who crooned softly, "Yes, Master Soundwave will love having a spy to keep an eye on those traitorous machines. Sabotaging that bumbling, big-chinned fool was genius, but we need your assistance. There are other traitors here on this planet, and we need them stopped. Will you help us?" The figure glanced hesitantly at the bird, unsure of what to choose. "Oh, come on now! Soundwave is already waiting for us! You don't want to keep a mech like him waiting." The bird chirped urgently. Taking one look back at the ship, the figure stepped towards the car. Her avian friend hopped off her arm and landed on the blue car's roof, where it transformed into a black and red electric guitar.

The figure opened the passenger door and stepped inside. Engine revving, the car known as Soundwave sped away from the Autobot base.

There was work to be done.

--

Alice once again awoke to yelling and angry-sounding bickering. "Again? I swear, this is some sort of wake-up call or something…" Yawning, she stumbled out, failing to notice the disappearance of her new guitar and of her doll.

"What's going on now, guys? And must you guys always start yelling outside my room?" She asked sleepily. Almost all the Autobots on Earth were present in the hallway, including a red and blue one she'd only seen on the news.

Sentinel looked down at her, anger practically radiating from him. "YOU! I though I told you to help me out!"

"What? What did, or didn't, I do?" She asked innocently.

Ultra Magnus shook his head. "Sentinel was spotted in the Autobot Earth base last night. He was in the middle of stealing several of his fellow Autobots' belongings, along with an unknown accomplice, who was later identified by Bumblebee and Bulkhead as Decepticon Soundwave."

"I would never help a Decepticon!" Sentinel protested. "And why would I touch Optimus' stuff? For all I know, it could be contaminated with Earth germs and-" He was silenced by a glare from Jazz and Ultra Magnus.

"We'll deal with you later, Sentinel. Jazz, Prowl, escort him to the Brig. He'll remain there until we can figure out what's going on here."

All the poor mech could do is look pleadingly at Alice as he was escorted away by the two ninjas.

--

"So you're Optimus Prime. Nice to finally meet you in person." Alice said, waving up at the mech.

"Yes, I've heard about you too, Alice. I had a hard time believing Sentinel actually managed to even get near a human. I just wish we could have met under better circumstances." The red and blue mech replied, sighing.

"Alright, Bumblebee, care to explain what you saw back there?" Alice asked. "I'm still acting as Sentinel's self-appointed lawyer, so I need to hear the facts."

"Alright, here goes: Sari woke me up and told me something was going on in the living room. We went out to check, and we see Sentinel Prime run past us with an armful of Ratchet's equipment! Sari and I managed to trip him up, and the crash woke the others up in the process. It was then we saw his pal, Soundwave. He blasted us back with a burst from his speakers, and the two managed to get away with a load of our stuff."

"Hmmm…" Alice growled pensively. "Bumblebee, what time was it when you caught Sentinel taking your stuff?"

"Maybe one thirty to two in the morning. Why?"

"Then it probably wasn't him."

"What?" The mechs around her gasped. "How can you tell?"

"The jerk happens to drink a lot of oil around that time when he think no one's watching. I've seen him do it a couple times, and he woke me up with his footsteps this morning. Since Ultra Magnus assigned me as his parole officer, I forced myself to follow him. He stayed in the lounge for a good two and a half hours before he headed back to bed." She replied in a matter-of-factly voice.

"Wow. You certainly know the mech." Optimus said, clearly impressed.

"Still, if he was sighted with a Decepticon, we may need to detain him for a few days." Ultra Magnus growled in a final sounding voice. "As for the oil, I can finally offer Jazz an explanation as to where his private stock of oil keeps disappearing to."

--  
**Argh. Sorry this came so late. I'd have had it done sooner, but I kept getting sidetracked.**

**Also, to get an idea as to how exactly this plot is going to turn out, listen to 'You're Gonna Go Far, Kid' by the Offspring. Enjoy.**


	6. Figuring Things Out

**A/N I know this is about Sentinel, but we deserve to see who our little mystery OC is. Plus, I can't think of anything to do with Sentinel right now.**

--

After a few days, things appeared to be quieting down at the Elite Guard base. Sentinel was no longer suspected of misbehavior, and was reinstated as a loyal Autobot early for good behavior.

But all was still not well.

Alice was moping around the base, skulking about the loss of her two favorite objects. No matter what Sari or any of the Autobots said, she refused to get over the loss of her doll and guitar. "It's just not fair…" she grumbled. "All I had were those things, and now they're gone." There wasn't much the mechs could do, so they left her alone for a few days.

--

In the dark of the night, a few hours before dawn, several alarms went off in different parts of the city. Before anyone knew what had happened, several electronics stores had been robbed.

The police force was unable to get to the scenes of the crime before the culprits got away, but there was video footage of them…somewhat. The surveillance cameras had been obliterated, but the tapes, miraculously, had survived. Copies of the tapes had been handed over to the Autobots, and, as they watched them, one thing was clear.

The thieves were defiantly robotic.

"This doesn't make sense." Optimus said pensively, watching the tapes again. "These are way too small to be any Decepticons we've faced before."

"What about the possibility of these being human-controlled robots?" Bumblebee asked.

"Look closer, Bumblebee," Sari pointed out. "I'm not sure human-controlled robots would start arguing over a digital camera…and start wrestling for it."

"Plus, is that a mini barrel of oil one of them is carrying?" Ratchet asked.

"Well, maybe these guys were made by an Allspark fragment, although it's probably too late to recruit them into the Autobots." Bulkhead speculated.

"Whatever these bozos are, we should keep an eye out for them." Sari muttered.

--

Beneath the city in the vast, maze-like sewer system, all was quiet, save for the gurgle of water and the occasional squeak of a rat. Suddenly, like sharks, three streamline automatons broke the surface of the murky water. They were supposed to keep the sewers clean and rat-free, but their purpose was long forgotten, as a new master had corrupted them. They now served as surveillance bots who kept the domain of their ruler free of intruders. Sure, they had had to scare away a few bums, but who would believe those humans when they said metal sewer sharks attacked them? No one, that's who. Along the concrete banks, other robots scuttled or hovered back and forth, busily bringing supplies from one sector to another. They too had been forced into servitude to their new master, and they were currently doing his biding. Sector 1 had been flooded due to a rainstorm and several important components had to be relocated or be destroyed by the rising floodwaters.

As the metal creatures ran and scurried on the outer rims of the underground kingdom, their ruler sat deep in the heart of the maze. Deteriorated pipes leaked steam into the air, breaking the heavy silence with sudden hisses. What little light that illuminated the room came from the red lights that told that the pipes still functioned correctly and from the yellow optics of the mech known as Soundwave and his newest creations, Rumble and Frenzy. True, Laserbeak had not approved of the two new mechs, but he did admit that it was nice to have someone to talk with in this world of mute and deaf servants.

Soundwave stood between the two shorter mechs with the red and black bird on his shoulder. The machine that stood facing him did not look like one…not entirely. The 'skin' that had hidden the bot's mechanical side was torn from the right shoulder down to the fingertips. Its blue tinted optics gazed up at the mech, as though awaiting orders. The pink tutu it wore was frayed and tattered, but still in passable condition, considering the machine had been through a lot.

"Greetings, my spy," Soundwave rumbled in a monotone voice. "I see your disguise has been…compromised. I shall have it repaired before you return to your duties." The doll bowed in a respectful and thankful way. "Now, onto business. I require you to sabotage those meddlesome Autobots. Do not stop at the large-chinned blue mech; feel free to use any of those bots as a disguise. Do you understand?" The doll nodded. "Good." The mech sent a sound whose frequency summoned several small Tailor bots that began working on the female bot's arm. When they backed off, the arm was as good as new, but several large stitches now connected the old and new skin.

"Now, take Laserbeak up to the surface. We require you to sneak him into Sumdac Tower and steal several vital blueprints and parts. I am sure you can disguise yourself as a human with ease with your holo-projecting skills. As for Laserbeak, simply carry him in guitar mode, and it should fool those weak-minded organics." The hawk on his shoulder snorted, but flew off its perch onto the doll's waiting arm.

"You have your orders, doll. Get going. If you do well, perhaps I'll consider making a vocalizer so you might be able to speak."

--

"I swear it's like Soundwave doesn't even want me around anymore!" Laserbeak complained loudly. He and the doll named Tiktok were making their way through the winding corridors of the sewer, passing bots that were fetching and carrying things for their master. "Ever since he created those two, Rumble and Frenzy, it's like I don't even exist anymore! Huh! They can't even move or talk unless he transfers power into their lifeless bodies! I tell ya, doll, its hard being the boss's firstborn…" He smiled as Tiktok patted his head in a sympathetic way. "Aw, doll, you're sweet. Shame you ain't much of a talker. Mark my words, though, he'll find a way to replace you too. Just a warning, though. Don't wanna scare you." The doll waved her hand, as though telling him it was ok.

"You're all right, kid. You're all right." Laserbeak said warmly.

The doll nodded, but as they emerged from a concealed manhole, she wondered if this was the right thing to do. Surely she had better uses than this. Well, if her new master got rid of that ungrateful, swollen-chinned bastard, it would be fine by her.

All she wanted was to be left with hr owner, Alice. Sure, the other Autobots were perfectly acceptable, but that Sentinel…It made her internal springs coil tightly at the mere thought of his attitude towards her owner. How he made her sick…Soundwave understood, of course, although she didn't approve of him hating the others…

Oh well. They would be collateral damage if they got in her way.

--

Alice had been very careful about keeping an eye on Sentinel, but it was proving hard to put up with his pompous attitude. You would think that a brush with the wrong side of Ultra Magnus and nearly being incarcerated would humble the bot, but alas! It did not. If anything, it merely increased his attitude.

He'd taken the girl back to the park to train. According to Sentinel, she'd gotten weak from her lax schedule with Jazz, and he needed to whip her back into shape. She had even worn her old training suit, as he had requested. She'd just finished three laps around the park, and she was dog tired. Panting, she asked, Sentinel, can I stop now? I think my legs are going to fall off."

"Stopping already?" He asked, shaking his head. "Well, you aren't much use to me without legs, so I guess we can stop. Come on, we should be heading back to base." Transforming, he opened the door for the exhausted girl.

"Sentinel, can we get some ice cream?" She asked.

"What?"

"Ice cream. You know the stuff you see small children eat? Yeah, I could go for some. I have money, but I just need someone to drive me to the ice cream place."

"Ugh…fine, just…don't get any of that slop on my seats, or I'll step on you."

"Fair enough."

--

Tiktok had disguised herself as a teenager visitor with Laserbeak strapped to her back. Wearing a tank top with the peace symbol on it and tattered jeans, she had joined a crowd of people touring the tower. Ever since Powell had taken over, he'd had other employees give tours rather than do it himself.

As the tour began, Tiktok looked around in a bored way as she scanned the premises for anything remotely interesting. It was only when the tour guide announced that they were entering a classified area did she perk up. "Stay together now! This is where Isaac Sumdac thought up his ideas. However, due to his strange disappearance, his workshop is empty. All the ideas and blueprints are down in the Vault on the fifth floor. Thankfully, the lock on the Vault is too advanced for any normal person to bypass."

Bingo.

As the group rounded a corner, Tiktok slipped away from the mass and hid as a couple of guards passed her hiding place.

Taking Laserbeak off her back, he transformed and sent several disruptive signals through the building, effectively freezing up all the security cameras and disabling all alarms. "We've got about ten minutes before these things start working again. Let's get to the fifth floor, pronto!" He squawked.

As the two made their way down from the eighth floor, they were surprised to find that there were few security guards between corridors and floors. "Man, this Sumdac guy must have had a stellar security system if he doesn't have more that a dozen guards in the building at one time." Laserbeak commented as he flew ahead of Tiktok. "Shame it's no match for my superior skills."

At last, they reached the Vault. The door looked like one you'd find at a bank, only much bigger and more intimidating. Laserbeak sat atop Tiktok's head and began analyzing the internal and external locks. "Piece of energon cake! A couple of two thousand digit locks intertwined with a sound recognition program! Why don't they just lock it with a wad of chewing gum?" He crowed after a while. Hopping off his companion's head, he began acoustically messing with the locks, speeding through them with relative ease.

As Laserbeak was finishing up, Tiktok noticed several security guards clustered outside the Vault, yelling for back up. One was even trying to call the police on his cell phone. Laserbeak looked over at them, annoyed by the interruption. "Hey, doll girl, whatever your name is, deal with those pesky humans, will you? I'm trying to work my magic."

The female bot nodded, and stepped towards the nervous humans, who had pulled out their guns. She smiled disarmingly at them before she sprang into action. As the men began firing, she executed several flips in order to avoid them. Landing amongst the guards, she sent two flying with a well-placed pirouette. The remaining men scrambled off, still trying to contact the police.

"Got it!" Laserbeak screeched, as the door to the Vault opened. Inside were rows and rows of file cabinets and in the back was a massive computer that was hooked up to Professor Sumdac's personal database. "Bet we'll find what we're looking for in that big computer. Looking through all these primitive cabinets will take forever!" The metal hawk glided in front of the screen and began to hack into the database with ease. As her partner worked, Tiktok noticed a few strange looking items in the corner. The one that caught her eye in particular was something that looked like a miniature speaker.

"Man, this guy has terrible security systems." Laserbeak chortled. "Hey, doll, what are you looking at?" He landed next to her. Scanning the object, he chirped, "Oh, this IS interesting. It's something that can override a machine's programming, and replacing it with something of the user's choosing…acoustically, too! How convenient. I bet Soundwave would LOVE one of these, escpeially since he can't be in two places at once! Still, we should probably test it out before we even pick it up…"

--

As Alice ordered her ice cream, Sentinel stood outside, looking nervously at the gathering crowd of curious human children and their guardians. They were trying to strike up conversations with him, but he was trying to ignore them. He trusted Alice completely, but he still was nervous around other humans.

As soon as Alice emerged with her ice cream, he transformed and opened the door for her. Once she was safely inside, he sped off before one of the younger humans could touch him.

"What was that about? I almost spilled my ice cream." She complained.

"Those stinkin' humans almost touched me!" Sentinel snarled in barely hidden panic.

"Oh, it's that again, huh? Ma, you need to stop freaking out at every organic thing you see." She shook her head and slurped up a chunk of ice cream. "You need help, seriously."

Sentinel was about to retort, but it was then something strange happened. A wave of acoustic energy sped past (Sentinel could feel it blast past him), and it was emitting the strangest yet most hypnotic signal Sentinel had ever heard. All around him, other robots were stopping what they were doing and heading towards the sound. Indeed, Sentinel was compelled to dump Alice out on the street and follow the sound, but he snapped out of it after a few moments. What would Ultra Magnus do if he lost Alice? He'd probably kill him!

"Uh, Sentinel? You hear that?" Alice asked, head tilted to hear the sound better. "Hello, Sentinel? Hellooooo? Anyone home?" She rapped a knuckle on the mech's dashboard.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Yeah, I head that." He replied in a dazed voice.

"What's going on?" Alice asked. "Where are all the machines going?"

As Sentinel was about to answer, his com-link blipped. "What is it Ultra Magnus, sir?" He asked.

"Sentinel, get over to Sumdac Tower now! We've tracked a strange signal emitting from it, and we suspect its Soundwave's doing."

"I'm on it, sir!" The mech barked before making a massive u-turn and driving in an urgent manner…

"Uh, Sentinel? Sumdac Tower's the other way."

"…I knew that."

--

"Wow, look at all those stupid machines! They're drawn to my siren-esque sound!" Laserbeak practically shrieked. They stood on a viewing platform on the sixth floor. "Oh, Soundwave will LOVE us for recruiting all these bots. Don't you agree, dolly?" Tiktok nodded silently. It was then that they noticed the cops beginning to surround the building. "Slag! Well, this has been fun, but I think we must get going. Dolly, grab my talons, will you? I think we can glide down from the other side of the building."

--

As the two culprits dashed to the viewing platform parallel to the one they were on, the Autobots pulled up and transformed. "What's going on here?" Jazz asked.

"I don't know," Prowl responded. "It looks like they're all waiting for some sort of signal or something."

"Sorry I'm late!" Sentinel skidded to a halt in front of his superiors, knocking several smaller bots out of his path. Letting Alice out, he transformed and asked, "Did I miss anything?"

--

Laserbeak took off from a recently shattered window, Tiktok holding on to his talons. "Oof! You sure are heavy, doll." He commented as they landed with a thump. "Alright, listen. I think we can get the Autobots off our tails if we cause a little anarchy, if you know what I mean." He frowned at her blank look. "Just strum me, and see what happens!" Transforming into a guitar, he fell into her hands. "Go on!" He said.

Tiktok looked up and saw Alice a little farther away. The doll could genuinely say she missed her owner, but the feeling, as she could see it, wasn't mutual. She was still clinging to that fool mech, Sentinel. Looking bitterly at her former owner, she took her claw-like nails and played a loud chord on her accomplice. The sound that went through the air was much like the one emitted by the machine up in the tower's Vault.

Immediately, all of the machines made turned to face the humans, and their optics glowed red.

--

"Uh oh." Jazz said. "Looks like the machines got their signal."

As the legion of machine advanced on the police and Alice, Optimus called, "Bumblebee, Prowl, get these humans out of here! Ratchet, Bulkhead, help me clear these bots aside!"

"Mind if I lend a servo?" Jazz asked.

"We need all the help we can get!"

With Bulkhead's wrecking ball, Ratchet's magnetic powers, Optimus' ax, and Jazz's skills, they made short work of the majority of the mob of automatons. Unfortunately, some still made it past the four, where they met their end by Ultra Magnus' hammer and Sentinel's lance.

Sari and Alice, along with the police force could only watch as the mechs swept through the now lessening crowd of bots. This distraction assured that they didn't see a teen in a tank top and tattered jeans sneak up a good distance away from them.

--

Tiktok wasn't surprised by the fact that the Autobots were defeating their army with ease, but there was something else that caught her interest.

That little girl's key.

She could feel the power flowing through the tiny thing, and she knew Soundwave would love to use its power to strengthen his army…Poking Laserbeak, she watched him transform and pointed at Sari, signaling towards her key.

"What? What about her?" He whispered. She gave him a look, and he understood. "Oh, you want something she's got, is that it?" She nodded. "No problem, friend. Just start a good enough distraction, and I'll swipe it easily."

Allowing Laserbeak to fly off her shoulder, she concentrated as her visual disruptors activated. She had no idea how she'd gotten these special abilities, but all he knew was that she'd use them so Sentinel would never bother Alice with his idiocy ever again.

As her holo-image took the shape of Sentinel, she stepped forward as the blue Elite guard mech. Energy lance drawn and battle mask up, the fake Sentinel lunged at the two other Autobots. It was only Prowl instinctively shoving Bumblebee aside that saved their lives. However, Prowl did sustain some injury to his back. "Sentinel, what are you doing?" The black and gold ninja demanded, shuriken already in his hands. The holo-mech gave no reply, but instead swatted at the two, who barely managed to dodge a second time. As the police fled for their lives, Alice and Sari were swept away through the crowd.

It was then Laserbeak attacked.

Sari never knew what hit her. One moment there was a red and black blur, the next her key was gone. "What-?" She gasped, and turned too late to see the mechanical bird fly off, hey key in its beak.

"Hey! Somebody stop that bird!" Sari yelled. Bumblebee immediately turned, stingers aimed at the flying assailant. Two shots were all that were needed to send the bird spiraling towards the earth. "Nice shot, Bee!" Sari said approvingly as she and the yellow mech ran off to intercept the fallen mech, leaving Prowl to battle the holo-mech. But he wouldn't be doing that for long.

Tiktok had shed her disguise as she saw Laserbeak fall. Running as fast as she could and dodging Prowl's incoming shuriken, she managed to pass up the two and reach her partner first.

The bot was in bad shape. His thrusters had been blasted to pieces, and his armor had been scraped up. One wing had a massive crack in it and had he tried to fly, it would have fallen off. "Ugh…" He groaned. "Doll…That you? Agh…Take the key, Doll. I'll be ok, now go! Get out of here…" Looking back, Tiktok grabbed the key from her friend's beak before running off towards a manhole. She gave one last sad look at her battered and smoking companion before lifting the cover.

Sari and Bumblebee reached the battered bird as the manhole cover settled into its slot in the ground.


	7. Heist

As Tiktok ventured through the tunnels, her thoughts kept staying back to Laserbeak. Was he ok? What were those Autobots going to do to him? She knew they were merciful, but Laserbeak was a Decepticon! Did they have mercy for Decepticons? She hoped and prayed that they did. Plus, that ninja bot had seen her! Now she could never go back to Alice without being detained. They might treat her like they would a Decepticon…

Was all of this worth some stupid key?

She looked down at the sludge below her, lights in the murk signaling the approach of the sewer sentry bots. As the lights floated past, she glanced at the key in her hand and had the urge to toss in after the sentries. But she couldn't do that. No, Laserbeak had told her to deliver it to Soundwave. His sacrifice shouldn't be in vain.

Shoulders sagging, she strode silently towards Soundwave's chamber.

--

She walked past the guard bots, which Soundwave had accidentally created by experimenting with a few of the Police bots he'd reprogrammed. They now served as his personal guards and the main part of his army. Her footsteps were in time with the hisses of steam and the dripping water like so many metronomes. Approaching the seated mech, the femme bowed respectfully.

"Ah, doll, you have returned. Where is Laserbeak?" He asked. Looking emotionlessly at her sad expression, he said, "I see. His mission was compromised. Do you have the information we need?" She shook her head. "And why not? Ah, I assume Laserbeak had all of the schematics and such." Soundwave growled. She nodded again and held up the key, as though trying to appease him.

The blue mech's optics flashed angrily. "That cursed key. I remember it well." He said monotonously, although there was definitely a growl embedded in his voice. "It brought me to life and showed me how flawed the humans' very existence is. It has much wisdom to impart upon us. However," He looked at the two still forms of Rumble and Frenzy. "We must use it to improve our army's chances of defeating the Autobots." Taking the key from the femme, he held the key up to Rumble's chest. A slot appeared and the key slid in. Giving t a turn, the mech's frame shivered and he opened his optics.

Gasping, he looked around as Soundwave removed the life-giving device. "I-I'm alive." He muttered. "Soundwave! It is a pleasure to see you again, sir."

"The same can be said for you, Rumble. Awaken Frenzy and return this power source to me." The blue mech ordered. "We will need it for your other companions, Ravage and Ratbat."

Turning from the two, he looked down at the doll and said, "I believe I owe you a vocalizer. Follow me. I shall have one for you soon enough."

--

Laserbeak lay unconscious on Ratchet's workbench, restrained by modified stasis cuffs attached to his ankles. He murmured as he lay there, twitching. Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus had called a council in Ratchet's Med Bay, and the owner wasn't too pleased by that. Despite his qualms, though, he couldn't exactly complain to his superior, so he had to silently work on the 'Con while the others talked.

"So what do with the bird?" Jazz asked, looking back at the grumbling Medic and his 'patient'.

"We caught him robbing Sumdac Systems, so he must have gotten some info from them. We need to figure out what he stole so we can try and piece together Soundwave's plan." Ultra Magnus said. "I believe Medic Ratchet is doing that as we speak." There was a grunt from the old Medic.

"Still, that doesn't explain why he was with Alice's doll." Prowl added.

"Well, at least we know Sentinel isn't secretly a Decepticon now." Bulkhead huffed, as though he was half expecting that as the outcome of this investigation. "I always knew toys weren't any good when they were mixed with technology."

"I never suspected that a toy had such advanced technology in it." Sari put in, giving Bulkhead a look.

Alice spoke up. "I did some research on that particular doll, and it turns out it has something like a holo-projector, except it's supposed to be used on the surrounding room to make it look like the inside of a castle or something."

"Well, that explains a lot," Sentinel said in a bored tone, "but it still doesn't explain why it decided to use my handsome body as a cover up." He glared around the room as there were repressed snickers from the earth Autobots.

Maybe it just doesn't like you, Sentinel." Alice offered.

"Yeah, big surprise…" Bumblebee muttered, and Sari giggled.

"Well, who would ever suspect Sentinel of wrongdoing?" Alice asked with a huff.

"You'd be surprised…" Ratchet said darkly, back still to the group. "Back in the War, this sort of thing was common. You couldn't tell if a mech was the real deal or a fake unless they knew something only that you two would know."

"Ratchet's correct." Ultra Magnus said. "Back then we needed to constantly be alert for spies, double agents and traitors. We must be very cautious from now on. If that doll can imitate any one of us, we need a system to make sure we know who is friend and who is foe. I recommend you have a separate question between one of each of your teammates. Make sure the answer stays between the two of you."

--

Later that afternoon, Sentinel was watching Alice do push-ups in the shade of the ship. After finishing her thirtieth one, she sat up, breathing lightly. "Wow, this working out stuff isn't so hard, I guess. I'm doing better in Gym, at least."

"You still have a lot to learn, fleshy." Sentinel muttered in a quiet voice, looking away.

"What's wrong, Sentinel?" She asked, standing up.

"How come you didn't know that that doll of your was possessed or something?" He asked accusingly. "Because of that abomination, I sat in the Brig, wasting my valuable time!"

"I'm sorry about what happened, Sentinel, but I didn't know either." Alice said. "I mean, how could have I have known? It's not like I'm psychic or anything."

"Just make sure you don't bring in any more of those toys, got it?" He asked bluntly.

Sighing, Alice muttered, "Alright, Sentinel, I'll make sure of that."

"Good."

--

Tiktok awoke on her back. The ceiling was lit by dim lights that made the slimy walls glimmer. Sitting up, she found herself in some sort of lab. Machines scurried through the place, checking monitors and adjusting various knobs. As Soundwave entered through a metal door, the lab bots scampered from his servos like so many metal cockroaches.

"I see you are awake, doll." He commented blandly. "I have installed the vocalizer, and you should be able to speak. I have also installed a translation program into your CPU, so you should be able to speak any language on this Earth and Cybertronian, if you wish it."

"I-I…" She clamped her hands over her mouth. Had she really made a noise? Removing her hands, she stammered, "Muh-My name is…T-Tiktok."

"Hmmm. Very well, Tiktok. You are needed in a mission today. Thanks to Laserbeak's short comings, we still require parts in order to create my new prototypes, codenamed Ravage and Ratbat. However, I have acquired information that the foolish humans have already started the Jaguar Drone project. That shell of a robot will make a perfect body for Ravage. I require you, Rumble and Frenzy to steal the blueprints or, better yet, the prototype itself. While your group works on that, I have arranged machine riots all around the city so the Autobots will be very much preoccupied. Do you understand?"

Tiktok nodded. "Y-yes, sir."

"Good. You three leave at exactly twenty one hundred hours tonight. I expect you to be ready by then."

--

Laserbeak groaned. Optics coming online, he glanced around. He was sitting in a small, cage-like room, the entrance blocked by energy bars. He tried to scan the system that sustained the bars, but he was forced to stop as a splitting pain filled his mind. Groaning, he nearly laid his head in a dish of oil that had been set down for him. Looking blearily down at his reflection, he dipped his beak in the shallow dish, drank some oil and felt a little better. Still, how was he supposed to break out if he couldn't even concentrate on the lock?

"Ah, you're awake." Laserbeak looked at the entrance to see an older mech crouching in front of the bars. Giving a startled squawk, he glared at his captor, but said nothing. "My name is Ultra Magnus. I'm the Commander of the Autobots, and you, my friend, are going to stay in this cell until we get some answers."

Laserbeak sneered at the mech. "I ain't telling you nothing, Ultra Maggie, or whatever your name happens to be. Boss would kill me if I ran my beak off to you Autobots, so go ask another stool pigeon. I ain't got nothing to say to you lot."

"Suit yourself," Ultra Magnus said, shrugging. "But we simply want to help you."

"Yeah right, and I'm the queen of Cybertron."

"Surely, you feel unappreciated, being a minion. I have heard many of my troops complain I don't know what it's like being a grunt or foot soldier. Doesn't your leader ever make you feel inadequate?"

Laserbeak looked away from the pair of sympathetic optics. Sure, Soundwave was always upgrading his gadgets and sometimes forgot about him, but so what? It was for the good of the army, right? Still… Turning back, he snorted, "Alright, Maggie, I'll talk, but I'm not going to babble like an idiot. You get what you pay for."

"And how might we be able to pay you?" The Autobot asked kindly.

Looking down at the half empty dish, the bird turned back to the mech and replied, "This oil's a little flat. Got a better grade of it?"

--

The bird sat on a table, drinking up from a small barrel filled with black liquid. Lifting his beak, now stained by the black liquid, he gave a loud belch. "Oh, that's the stuff." He groaned. "Takes the edge off of life quite nicely, that it does."

"This had better be worth it, sir…"Jazz muttered as he stood behind the seated mech "That bird's just drank three fourths of his weight of my private stash of oil."

"It will be worth it, Jazz. Watch this." The Commander turned back to the bird, who gave another small belch. "Alright, Laserbeak, you've had your fill. Now talk."

"Ahaha, ok, Maggie, if you insist." Laserbeak chortled. "My master, Soundwave, he's trying to take over the city. His base is in the sewers. Ah, but I'm too smart for you! I'm not gonna say that it's being guarded by an army of guard drones and whatnot!" The mech paused to belch again. "Plus, he's setting up a personal guard, and I'm on it! Moreover, he's got these two jokers named Rumble an' Frenzy that I swear are replacing me…and there's that doll, whatsherface…They…Ugh, they're all…" He toppled off of the table and passed out.

"Wow. He's such a lightweight." Jazz laughed.

"Still, he gave us a good amount of info. I'll put a tracker on him and we'll let him think he's escaped us tonight."

--

Tiktok eyed the two mechs who trailed her nervously. Ever since they'd started the mission, they'd been staring at her with a strange look in their optics. "What are you two looking at?" She asked, stopping.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." Rumble murmured, a blush creping across his face.

"Yeah, sorry, Tiktok." Frenzy added, a blush creeping over his face as well.

"Well, it's almost time for us to start the mission. I think we'd better get into disguises." Tiktok said in a dismissive tone. Activating her holo-projector, she disguised Rumble and Frenzy as identical humans with differing hair colors and herself as the human girl with the peace sign tank top and tattered jeans. "Alright, let's go."

--

A/N Cripes, this seems really short, doesn't it? Sorry about that.


End file.
